Washing machine



A. E. ROBERTS.

WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEc.22. I92o.

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. 4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

III

ATTORNEY.

A- E. ROBERTS.

WASHING MACHINE,

l APPLICATION FILED DEC-22, i920.

9 J: 99 Q! c @mm-@d 001;. 117911922.

` TTORNEY, f

A. E. ROBERTS.

WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man 050.22, 1920.

E ASQMLQQL Patnted Oct; 179 E922. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

95. y j r M un v f INVENTOR.

A. E. ROBERTS.

WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEc.22, 1920.

15,43%220 Patnted 00%. i179 1922.,

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

III

ernten.

.ALFRED ll. EGFERTS, 0F SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFGENEA, ASSG-NR DE? @NE-FIFTH T@ HARREET EGBERTS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNXA. i

Application led December 22d, 1920. Serial No. 432,397.

To all' lwlw/mJ t may concern:

Be it known that ll, ALFRED F. ROBERTS, a

clear terms as will enable those skilled in the art to construct and use the same.

This invention relates to a washing ma- Ychine and its object is to produce an apparatus which will be capable ot being applied to any ordinary stationary wash trays.

lt will be understood by those skilled in the art that the ordinary electric washing machines are cumbersome and occupy much needed space, whereas most' modern houses are equipped with a pair of stationary wash trays over which this apparatus can be installed without occupying any additional floor space and which have the usual water and waste connections.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Washing machine of the so-called vacuum type .which will be provided with means for balancing the reciprocating parts thereby reducing the amount of power necessary to operate the apparatus. I

A further object of the invention is to produce an apparatus which will have its electric motor installed in a location where it is not likely to be wet by the splashing of water from the washing machine.

Another object of the invention is to produce a frame for carrying the apparatus which will becompact and easily assembled and which can be easily applied to the house where the machine isto be installed by simply nailing a pair of cleats to the house or room wall.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the position that the vacuum cups occupy may be adjusted to accommodate the machine to larger or smaller masses of clothing in the wash tub.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the vacuum cups may be oscillated :trom one position to another position when the apparatus is raised out of env gagement with the clothes so as to cover substantially the entire area of the botto of the wash tray.

Another object of the invention isto produce adriving gear which will 'be capable of driving a spur gear and a worm gear from the same teeth, the face of the spurgear teeth being cut to mesh with both of said gears, .thereby enabling the vacuum cups to be oscillated horizontal-ly with only one extra gear. i @ther objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds. An embodiment of the invention is shown 1n the accompanying drawings in which the same reference numeral is applied to the 'same portion throughout, but l am aware that. there may be modilications thereof.

Flgure l is a front elevation of the cmplete machine, the wash tubs and a portion of the enclosing casing being shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the complete machine with the wash trays and a portion of the enclosing casing being cut away for purposes of illustration.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the operating mechanism on the line 3`-3 Fig. 1.

Fig. t is a plan view of the arrangement for shifting the vacuum cup from one position to the other.

Fig. 5 Vis a vertical sectional view of a portion of the vacuum cup shifting apparatus.

Fig. 6 is a view in elevation of the combined spur and worm ear used for transmitting the power to t e vacuum cups and to the apparatus for shifting thek vacuum cu s. 1

ig. 7 is a plan view of a wash tray illustrating the two positions the vacuum cups operate in.

Fig. 8 is a view of the operating mechanism looking from the back with the back of the enclosing casing and the cleats removed.

Fig. 9 is a view of the operating mechanism looking from the left of Fig. l, the outside of the casing being removed :torpurpose ol illustration.

rllhe numeral l. indicates an ordinary form of double wash tray, one side of which has the cover 2 and theother side of which has the cover 3. The cover 3 is supported by four members 4 to 7 inclusive which are connected together to form an extension of the edges of the wash tray, so as to give additional space for the operation of the vacuum cups. These'four members are held 1n place on the upper edge of wash. tray to which they are applied by means of a plurality of depending lugs 8 to 13 inclusive. n

The driving' apparatus is installed 1n a framework having the sides 14 and 15, back members 16 and 17, cleats 18 and 19 and top 20. This frame-work is ordinarily made of wood and has the cleats 21 to 24 inclusive to stiEen it. The top20 is extended beyond the side l5 far enough to form a support for the motor 26 to the under side of which the motor is bolted.

The lower cleat 19 carries a bracket casting 27 which has a bearing in its underside for a' horizontal shaft 28, said shaft also extending into a bearing 29 carried by a bracket 30 bolted to the outside of the side 15. This shaft also supports the gear 31, but which gear is revoluble thereon. The shaft 28 also carries 'rigidly connected therewith a pinion 32, grooved pulley 33 and bevel gear 34. The upper portion of the bracket 27 1s provided with a bearing 35 for a shaft 35 said shaft carrying a combined spur and worm gear-36 and a small pinion 37. The gear arrangement is such that the gear 32 drives the combined worm and spur gear 36 in about a one to four relation while the pinion 37 drives the gear 31 in a one to four relation thereby reducing the speed of the gear 31 to one-sixteenth that of the rate of rotation of the shaft 28.

A belt 38 connects the motor pulley 39 with the pulley 33. The bracket 27 has a vertical bearing 41 for the shaft 42 which latter has the spiral gear 43 on its upper end in mesh with the spiral cut teeth of the gear 36. v

It will be understood that the spur gear 36 is traveling at a comparatively high rate of speed with respect to the gear 31 so that if its teeth are of the same width as the gear 31 they will be strong enough to admit of the necessary spiral coating to permit that gear to also engage and drive the spiral gear 43.

The gear 31 is connected to a link 44 and said link is in turn connected at its opposite end to a movable bracket 45 on the vertical shaft 40. The bracket 45 is held in 'place by means of two fixed collars 46 and 47 and it has an arm extending forwardly as indicated at 48 to which a short length of cable 49 is connected, said cable 49 passing over a grooved pulley 50 carried by two depending brackets 51 connected to the under side of the top 20. The other end of the cable 49 is connected to a long heavy spiral spring 52. The lower end of the spiral spring is connected to a lug 53into which a bolt 54 is 27. The object of t is construction is-to yincrease or diminish the tension of the spring as may be desired.

The shaft 40 is vertically slldable' 1n a bearing 65 bolted to the bracket 27 and in a bearing 56 bolted to the under side of the casing top 20.

In order to prevent the link 44 from causing the shaft 40 to bind as it passes through the bearing 65 and the bearing 56, bolted to the under side of the top 20 the bracket 45 is extended far enough to receive the lower end of a short shaft 57 passing through another bearing 58 forming a part of the bracket in which the bearing 56 is formed.

The shaft 40 `is slotted as indicated at 59 and a flat key 60 extends through said slot for oscillating the shaft 40. The key 60 has two lugs 61 and 62 a pin 63 extends.

Bolted to the bracket 27 is a plate 64 thereon through which which carries the bearingV 65 surrounding the shaft 40 and said bearing is provided with an opening on both sides thereof to permit the key 60 to oscillate the shaft 40 without turning it completely around.

A link 66 is connected to a pin 67 on the lspiral gear 43 and at its opposite end the link has a slot 68 through which the p-in 63 extends. The pin 63 and the key 60 are retained in place by cotter pins placed through suitable openings therein.

The timing of the spiral gear and the other gears is such that during the period of each upward movement of the shaft 40 the link 66 will shift said shaft and its supported vacuum cups from one position to an- 1 other position in the wash tray, thereby covering practically the entire area of the wash tray. Since it would be inconvenient to ship very long apparatus, the shaft 40 is no longer than the enclosing casing and it is provided with a coupling 69 which is in turn connected to a shaft 70 connected to the tubular member 71 which carries the vacuum cups. v

' The vacuum cups are as flat as is consistent with the work required of them and are indicated at 72 and 73. They have upwardly projecting lugs 74, -to 77 inclusive through which lugs, the horizontal tubes or' shafts 78 79 extend and said vacuum cups may oscillatc about the axis of said horizontal shafts to accommodate themselves to uneven piles of clothes in the tub.

The shafts 78, 79 are suitably connected to -a tting 80 on the lower end of the tube 71.l

and operating it. Tn order to provide for swinging thewringer around, the eida,y has a support 83 provided with an upwardly er@ tending pin de which ma be secured to the side l by means oi the wmg nut 85.

The operation oithe apparatus is as fiole lows:

Assumin the tub to be lled with water to a snitab e depth andhaving the proper amount of clothing placed therein, the mo` tor is started.' As it operates the pulley 33, the-vacuum cups will be raised and lowered at a rate of one-sixteenth or less if desired the rate oi rotation oi the pulley 33. During each upward movement ot' the vacuum cups the spiral gear t3 operated by gear 36 will shiit the shaft l0 carrying the vacuum cups from the positionf it then occupies to a diderent position `thereby fully covering the clothin in the tub. Since the spring 52 is made sti l enough to justsupport the vacuum cups and shaftin'g connected therewith, the only worlr the motor is called upon to do is that due to the punching of thev clothes and not that due to raising and lowering the'vacuum cups and their attached load.' l

lt will also be noted that it the tub is `filled unusually full of clothes, that it is possible to adjust the position ot the vacu-v um cups by raising o`r lowering the tube 7l with respect tothe shaft 70, a suitable pin '83 being used to connect the two parts together. lt will or course be apparent that other forms of vacuum cups may be used on the lower end ot the tube 7l, it it is not desired to use the iorm shown herein.

ln order to close the Jr'ralne it has a metal bottom plate 90 and a trame lll on the iront which is provided with a window 92.

What ll claim is as follows, but various moditications may be made in the construction shown in the drawings and above particularly described form, within the purview oif my invention: i

l. A. machine ot the class described comprising the combination with awash tray ci a trame adapted to be secured to a fixed structure abovethe wash tray, a vertically extending shaft passing through said trame,

vacuum pans supported by said shaft :to-r kneading the clothes in the wash tray, voperating mechanism carried by the trame adapted to vertically reciprocate and horizontally oscillate the vacuum pans, and a long spiral s rin for substantially balancing the weig t o the sup-porting shaft and vacuum pans.

2. An apparatus ofv the' class described comprising a wash tray, a frame adapted to be connected to a fixed support above the wash tray, a vertically extendingshaft passing through the trame, driving mechanism carried by said :trame adapted to vertically reciprocate and' horizontally oscillate said shaft, and a pair of vacuum pans at the lower end ot the shalt pivotally mounted to horiaontal the clothing the wash comprising the combination with a wash tray oit a frame adapted to be secured to a xed support above the wash tray, a vertically extending shai't passing through the Jframe, drivin mechanism carried by said :trame adapted to vertically reciprocate and horizontally oscillate said shaft, vacuum pans at the lower end of the shaft oppositely positioned and adapted to have a` pivotal movement about an axis at right angles to the supporting shaft, driving mechanism tor operating the shaft and vacuum pans, and means to partially support the weight oi the reciprocatory shaft and 3. fln appara-tus or the class described vacuum pans to reduce the power required vacuum pans pivotally mounted on saidtransverse bar lor lmeading the clothes in the tray, and a combined spiral and spur gear for converting the .rotary motion o i a motor shaft into al reciprocatory and oscillating motion oi said vertically extending shalt.

5. An apparatus of the class described comprising a frame, a driving mechanism carried thereby, a vertically reciprocatory clothes washing mechanism supported in the fra-me, a long spiral spring to balance the weight of the clothes washing mechanism. a movable arm on the clothes wash`= ing mechanism to which said-spring is connected, means connected with the driving mechanism and said arm to recip recate the clothes washing mechanism vertii cally and a spiral gear on a vertical axis to oscillate the clothes washing mechanism from one position to another position upon each upward movement of the clothes washing mechanism1 v 6. An apparatus of the class described comprising a. frame, a driving mechanism supported therein, a reciprocatory clothes washing mechanism supported from the fra-me, means to balance the weight oi' the clothes washing mechanism, means connected with the driving mechanism to recipe rocate the clothes washing mechanism vertically, and a spiral gear in mesh with the teeth of a spur gear for oscillating the clothes washing mechanism from one position to another position upon each upward stroke of the clothes washing mechanism.

7. ln a washing machine the combination with a drivingmechanism of a reciproca'- washing member, a link connected therewith, and a spiral gear for reciprocating said link, said spiral gear being driven by one of the previously mentioned spur gears.

9. An apparatus of the class described com- `prising the combination with a wash tray of a frame adapted to be secured to a fixed support above the wash tray, a vertically extending shaft passing through said frame, vacuum cups secured to the lower end of said washing members, an arm slidable w1t 1 respect to the the shaft, a spring in the frame, a cable connected with saidv spring, a pulley over which said cable passes, said cable being connected to the vacuum cup shaft to support a portion of its weight, and meansto reciprocate and oscillate the vacuum cups.

10. An apparatus of the class described comprising the combination with a wash tray of a frame adapted to be secured to a fixed support above the wash tray, a vertically extendingshaft passing through said frame, a guide arm loosely mounted \on said shaft, a guide shaft connected lwith. said guide arm, a cable connected to said guide armand to a spring. to support the weight of the reciprocatory parts, a pulley over which said cable passes, vacuum cups secured to the lower end of the reciprocatory shaft, and means to reciprocate and oscillate said shaft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 13th da of Dec. A. D. 1920.

- ALFR D E. ROBERTS. 

